The Urban and Regional Planning Program seeks to hire a post-doctoral research fellow beginning as soon as possible (no later than January 1, 2014) and extending through August 31, 2015.

The Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan (UM) has obtained research funding from the UM Water Center and other sources to conduct an extended research program that will participate in and simultaneously study the development and implementation of local comprehensive planning and shoreland area management planning efforts for selected Great Lakes coastal communities in Michigan. Collaborating with study communities, researchers will develop technical methodologies to evaluate and convey to the public the potential physical impacts to shorelands from Great Lakes shoreline dynamics, including primarily impacts to coastal habitats, wetlands, and developed properties. Researchers will also develop methods to assess potential fiscal impacts under various shoreland area management options. This work will be conducted by urban planners and architects in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan in collaboration with researchers with the UM College of Engineering, the UM School of Natural Resources and Environment, the Michigan Technological University Great Lakes Research Center, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Coastal Zone Management Program, and LIAA, a non-profit planning firm located in Michigan.

This project will generate research that both contributes to the practice of shoreland area planning and development management along Great Lakes shores and contributes to our knowledge of the factors that influence the design and implementation of those planning and development management processes. The post-doctoral research fellow hired through this grant will play a central role in managing the administration of this research program and generating policy reports and peer-reviewed academic journal publications from those efforts.

The post-doctoral research fellow will be housed in the Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. The compensation for this position will be at the annual salary rate of up to $52,000, with benefits, corresponding to the candidate’s qualifications.

Qualifications and Application Process

UM seeks a post-doctoral research fellow who has completed the Ph.D. degree in urban and regional planning or a closely related field within the past 5 years. Required qualifications include academic study of land use and environmental planning, sustainability and community resilience in the context of global climate change, local comprehensive and subarea planning processes, participatory and collaborative planning processes, survey and qualitative research methods, and planning program evaluation. Highly desired qualifications include academic study of ocean or large-lake coastal shoreline dynamics and sustainability in the context of culture, human behavior, and social-political decision-making processes. Professional work experience in one or more of these areas is highly desired as well.

The successful applicant will be expected to commit to completion of the appointment through August 2015.

Interested applicants should submit a single pdf file to Michael Hill (mehill@umich.edu) that includes the following: a letter of interest that describes the applicant’s qualifications; a curriculum vita; contact information for three references; and a short writing sample (e.g., journal-article-length manuscript or publication). The subject line in the email should state “URP Post-doctoral Fellowship Application.”

Review of applications will begin on Monday, October 21 and continue until the position is filled.

Please contact Richard Norton, Associate Professor and Program Chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Program, with questions regarding this announcement at rknorton@umich.edu.